Pre-Departure 5

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Getting stuff ready to go:

1. Medical crap. I has teh diabetus, meaning I have to carry all sorts of medical supplies over with me. I'm not going to keep any in my checked baggage, instead will be carrying it in my carry on. This makes for two problems:

a. Getting everything packed and ok for the plane.
b. Making sure no one tackles me because of all the needles I'll be carrying.

Solutions:
a. Getting supplies that are smaller and easier to pack and only taking a months worth with me and having my parents mail the rest to me.
b. Getting a letter of medical from my doctor and prescriptions to prove I need it all.

Another problem I have with teh diabetus is that what if I have an emergency while I'm over there? To solve that, I have my emergency prescriptions. I also talked to the direction of the program who is friends with a doctor over there. He speaks english and will be able to get me help if it comes to that. Also, I've heard good things about the medical system and will have both the insurance that the program includes as well as my mom's insurance. Which is a good thing. I also have a list of hospitals and pharmacies in the area.


2. Finances. I'm probably going to get a credit card to go along with my debit card for emergencies. The way my parents are talking it seems like they assume that I'll actually use it. Actually, Bryan brought up a good point about credit cards being more secure than debit cards for buying things (like plane or train tickets and hostel rooms) online. In any case, I'm still trying to figure out which kind to get. My mom is shoving things in my face from Bank and Discover. I need to find out more about conversion fees and tax rebates and what not before I decide. I guess I should also take interest rates and other stuff into account, too. Uhg. In any case, both credit and debit cards will be in my wallet.

I need to go to the Bank and let them know that I'll be out of the country. And get Euros. I don't know how many I'll get. I was thinking 200 would be enough, but I've heard between 500-700 is good. I'm not sure how I feel about carrying that much money on me.


3. Waiting. It's less than a month away from when I go. I don't want to wait anymoooooooooooore!